conworldfandomcom-20200222-history
Aka
Aka language is a classical language that has been in use in the Ponant since the 5th century. It is mostly used in official texts of Lakhang kingdoms (and later of smaller villages in the Lakaño valley) during the pre-colonial era. During the first half of the second millenary, this language has become used in daily life. During the Dark Era, the language has evolved into modern languages such as Lakkam language (most spoken, and regional official language) and Adauru, Iyuttau or Jandang languages. Despites these evolutions, the language was still maintained alive, mainly thanks to writers that kept writing in that language. In the late 1980, the Tankan movement has made an successful attempt to make the language revive. And currently the number of native speakers is estimated to 3,000 people, all located in Akapakiangkutza (The Village of Aka Speakers) a village found in the south Lakaño province. This village has the particularity to refuse the installation of people that do not have a sufficient level of Aka language. Status Despite its historical weight (almost all official texts of indigenous states were written in this language from the 5th until the 19th century), the language is considered by linguists as endangered during the 1980s. This is mainly due to the fact that people who spoke it in the 20th century were mainly traditional writers in smaller villages of the Lakaño valley. This language, considered dead since the 15th century, has survived among indigenous languages of the Lakaño valley as a classical, written language, it became the official language of the Kingdom of Great Lemuria and they mainly worked as traditional writers. But since the creation of the Republic of the Ponant in 1880 and the use of Kriollatino as official language, they were no longer needed by the government, then the number of traditional writers started to fall drastically from 112,000 in 1860 to 2,000 in 1970. After the establishment of the Republic of the Ponant, they were mainly employed to translate old archives into Kriollatino. Considered endangered by eminent Ponantian linguists, an attempt to revitalise the language has been encouraged by the ONKHKN (English: INCHCO Immaterial National Cultural Heritage Conservation Organisation). The initiative to revitalise was taken in 1981 by 1,200 traditional writing students that have decided to live together in a city, teaching the classical language to their descendents as well as traditional writing and history students. Efforts have been rewarded with the first recensed native speaker in 1984. From 1984 to 2009, 225 more native speakers were recensed. Most of them being actually bilingual with Kriollatino. However, due to lack of means, the first school, the primary school, only opened in 1995, and was led by the community rather than the provincial government because the government initially refused to finance a school that did not teach in the regional nor in the official language. Currently the local and national governments still refuses to finance the school, and it is mainly run thanks to private donations and ONKHKN aids. In 2004, classes are maintained in Aka language till EDN II level. The project of creating a Higher Education in Aka language is in project and it should be opened in 2014. With the success of the revival in a so tight laps of time, the central government congratulated the mayor, but has expressed its fears about the "autarkysation" of the Akapakiangkutza village. To avoid such isolation, the Aka language school has introduced Kriollatino classes. The provinces of Toskano Nova and Aumatálo has introduced Aka as an regional language. In fact, the proportion of people that have knowledge in that language is very low. The only effect it has had is to make Aka speaking people emigrate there just in order to work as traditional and/or official writers. The first Aka speaking village outside Lakaño was found in 2002 and has 280 inhabitants, which also refuses the installation of all people who do not have a sufficient level of Aka language. See also * Aka language in Conlang Wiki *